Snog in

Fuel the new frontline in Africa

Next
week, young activists from Kenya, Uganda, and my home country, Nigeria,
will be coming together in Nairobi for the launch of a year-long
training program.

Over
the next few months, 75 brave activists will participate, learning how
to use the internet more effectively in their fights for equality across
Africa. They’ll receive advice on how to ensure their safety and
privacy online.

Simply put, they will develop strategies to take the frontline online.

We need your help to ensure that this work can continue throughout the year. There are just 10 days until this training kicks off.

It’s predicted that in just a few years, there will be more than 700 million smartphones in Africa. That's more than North America and on par with Europe.

Throughout the year, these 75 activists will be trained by expert
online organisers on how to keep up with this massive online revolution.
As access expands, so do the risks. A recent survey suggested that more than 50% of LGBT Nigerians like me have been harassed or threatened online.

Together, we'll learn how to protect ourselves and others online, use
the internet to strengthen our fights on the ground, and ultimately
move our communities closer to equality.

As an openly gay African woman campaigning in Nigeria, I’m so excited
to help grow our movement and make it sustainable for the future. These
young activists will be able to take what they've learned back to their
communities, training up colleagues, and fueling local fights for
equality.

Although we face unspeakable abuse and discrimination, I’m convinced
we can win. There are millions of people around the world who already
stand in solidarity with the LGBT movement here.

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Plastic is everywhere in our daily lives.
I'm writing this on a computer with plastic parts, using a
plastic keyboard powered through a plastic plug. You'll be reading this
on something similar, or maybe on a plastic mobile phone.

After 5 weeks of campaigning, HSBC
have just said that they'll stop funding rainforest destruction. It's
amazing - but it's also an amazing opportunity to make sure other banks
start cleaning up their act too. When our friends or peers do
something good, it can often make us feel the pressure to do the same
thing - and these banks reputations…